This question has arisen a few times over the years...The bird goes CRAZY with a toy, battles it as if the fight were life or death, sometimes messing up his pretty long tail (I know - not his problem!). Does he love the toy or hate it? Most recently this has come up regarding the demon-ball (toy #4) shown on this page...

He likes to pound his toys on the ground, no exception here, but... sometimes it gets loose from his beak and bounces backwards into his head or beak, thus driving him nuts. He has to run away and collect himself, but then he's back with a vengeance. I'm not concerned about concussions because the toy is quite lightweight and soft, but I just wonder... does he love it or hate it? I have tried to decide by putting it in the far corner of his room. Sometimes he races for it, sometimes not. Just leave it there and let him decide?

You might think after 32 years I'd have him figured out. No way. Ideas?

I have always thought is was neither love or hate. I think parrots play with toys to fulfill a need. They may take out agression, or have a need to forage, or a need to explore, or just express a joy of feeling the energy of being alive. Some species are more playfull. Sunny is facinated with cage doors, his is not a very heavy door and he makes it go back and forth and jumps on it and off it. He is constantly closing Gaugans cage, but it is a heavy cage door, so he cant get it back open. I am not sure exactly what his facination is with cage doors, but they do keep him in a cage when closed so maybe it has something to do with that.

Both of my pois will hang upside down chewing on toys, sometimes flapping their wings and make the toys wizz around. Lately, Sunny thinks it is a fun challenge to dump over his wet food dish and he will go over and dump out Gaugans too. He then flings it to the floor. They have usually already eaten a lot before he does it, so not sure if he is asking for more or just doing it for the heck of it. Sunny also loves taking crimped paper out of foraging toys, and will spend a lot of time each day doing that. i save what paper i can and restuff, and I can crimp more.

Gaugan loves foraging toys with a slab to chew on or a nut treat inside, she doesnt really like pulling paper out that much. i sometimes take a coffee filter or cup cake filter, fill it with foraging treats, and tie it up with a hemp rope, and then tie it to something, and Gaugan will work on that toy for hours to get the treat but Sunny works for hours on chewing through the hemp cord i attached that toy with and then throwing the toy on the floor...lol

That is enormously helpful, Deb. Thank you.Makes sense. Not so much hate/love as fulfilling acts that are natural to them. Patagonians, who are pretty much ground-dwellers and burrowers, don't "need" to swing and hang and be acrobatic... running and scuffling is more in their "wheelhouse". Of course. So when he needs to act out a little male territorial stuff, he knows who needs to get whacked... the bouncy toy! And sometimes, it seems that the bouncy ball has learned its place and keeps its distance. And then again, sometimes it gets that look on its face. Stupid ball.

Thank you! I need to get a vid of this primal battle... it is RAUCOUS!

He sounds like a lot of fun to watch. Gaugan is very comfortable on the floor and can run and pounce with great speed terrifying any other parrot I have had, that was on the ground. Any other Poi I have had could never match her on the ground, she is the queen there and quite capable of pecking a humans toe, that is interferring.....lol

OOOOOOH, Gaugan and the Rickeybird would do floor battle! And I would have to put my money on Gaugan, UNLESS the RB came to his senses and just ran. He is fassssst, but... he has no judgment... he'd do battle. Money on Gaugan.

lol...conures can jump...When I am over at my daughter house her liitle GGC will jump on top of her Meyers, and it irritates him, but the GGC is much smaller so no problem. Gaugan is the only Poi i have ever had who Jumps. She lands with such a heavy thud when she jumps that it scares other parrots that way too. When she is on top of my computer and then jumps on my chest, with a loud thud, i sure feel it......lol

I think that when parrots 'play rough' with their toys, they are not really playing but displaying displaced aggression. Now, whether this is beneficial or even necessary, I can't say. My birds never really show any displaced aggression -well, with the exception of the male amazon. He doesn't do it all the time but he does it - and all my other male amazons have done it, too.

The psychic probably has just as much chance as we do knowing what they are feeling when they play with toys.....lol

I have two pois, and they are very acrobatic, and play a lot, they hang upside down, sometimes with one foot and even summer sault on some toys. They are on the go most of the day, except for the odd birdie nap...lol.. I dont bother to see it as displace agression. i look at it all as supplying needs and just keep making them what they use.

I love acrobatic parrots! But I have to watch them on YouTube. The RB's little pink cockatiel feet are not conducive to fancy climbing and hanging and such! I suppose real cockatiels do just fine with them, but for a bird about the size of a Gray, notttt so muchhhh!